Rome must fall.

Chapter 263 Cavalry Rescue
The Knicks' army occupied a high ground, and the Pannoni coalition attacked from bottom to top. They were unable to give full play to their advantage in numbers and gather strength to disrupt the opponent's tight phalanx through a charge.

Once the two sides started fighting, in the close combat, the Knicks army relied on its excellent protection, better teamwork, and the advantage of the short sword in close combat, so that most of the screams were caused by Pan Sent by Noni warriors.

It's just that the Knicks army strictly abided by the predetermined plan and took a defensive position. The soldiers would never easily leave the phalanx to chase down the injured enemy.

Of course, this is also related to Maximus's modification of the standards for meritorious promotion in the army. Soldiers now know that it is useless no matter how many enemies' ears they cut off. Only when the entire army wins will they individually perform meritorious service.

The Nix soldiers did not advance, so that most of the injured Pannoni warriors could be withdrawn from the loose array with the help of their teammates. They had enough warriors to replace them to maintain the offensive situation.

Several Pannoni leaders thought in advance that the long and dense array of the Nix army would be unsustainable on the rugged hills as the battle continued. In other words, they had already imagined it before the battle began. This was achieved because the Knicks formation looked continuous from a distance, but in fact it was made up of small square formations of hundreds of people intertwined at random. As long as the soldiers of the Centurions strictly abide by discipline, it would be easier for them to fight in battle. Maintain the small square formation.

The Pannoni warriors who rushed up the hill certainly discovered the secret of the Nix army formation. They would naturally, pushed by their teammates, laboriously pass through the gap between the two hundred-man phalanxes, and go around to the enemy's side. Attack from the rear.

But this poses no threat to the Knick soldiers, because each hundred-man phalanx has a shield wall erected around it, just like a solid turtle shell. Unless the morale of the soldiers inside collapses, they will never be easily defeated. Break open. However, every one of the Knicks soldiers wanted to win this battle and advance through meritorious service. Even if they were surrounded, their morale was still high. No matter how fiercely the enemy attacked, they were always determined, defended tenaciously, and stabbed fiercely.

On the contrary, the Pannonian army was dispersed by the strange formation of the Nix army. As the battle continued and the soldiers from the rear continued to surge, the gaps between the Nix's hundred-man phalanx became crowded, facing the Nix army. It was more difficult to dodge the daggers that the Slovak soldiers thrust out from between the square shields, resulting in a high casualty rate for the Pannoni warriors. The constant accumulation of wounded soldiers and corpses gradually blocked the gaps between the square formations, which also made it difficult for later warriors to They are intimidated.

What really made the Nyx army feel some threat was the right wing of the Pannoni coalition. The warriors of Disone and Peruste did not charge in a loose formation like the compatriots of the other two large tribes, but first At the foot of the hill, the tribal leaders commanded the warriors of their tribes to form small, tight formations of dozens or hundreds of people, and then marched toward the top of the hill one after another.

When approaching the military formation of the Knicks' Third Army, they did not rush forward with high fighting spirit. Instead, they continued to maintain their formation and approached the enemy at a slower speed. At the same time, they tentatively attacked the general from behind the wooden shield. The spear thrust forward.

In fact, the armies of Diosmei and Peruste initially followed the same tactics as the armies of Mazie and Brochi. However, during the many years of conflict with the Boi people, in order to restrain the Boi people's cavalry that was stronger than themselves, , they had to train a long contradiction array with a tighter array and better organization. This was one of the main reasons why they were able to stand on the north bank of the Drau River and compete with the Boi people without falling behind.

If it weren't for the fact that most of the Pannoni warriors at the foot of the mountain didn't have armor, it would give people the illusion that they were replicas of the Nix army.

The warriors protected the wooden shields in their left hands in front of themselves. Their wooden shields were larger and longer than the shields of the other two tribes. The spears in their right hands pointed diagonally forward. They walked at a slower pace in order to move faster. A neat queue began to climb the mountain.

It’s not enough to just defend and get beaten!
The centurions of Nyx ordered the phalanx to advance one after another. The soldiers actively approached the enemy, clashed with their shields, and slashed at close range with daggers...

Looking down from the mountain, the troops on the right wing of the Pannoni coalition were like the sea water at the beginning of the rising tide, surging intermittently and layer by layer towards the hills.

Facing the long contradictory formation of the Pannonian right-wing army, the Nix hundred-man phalanx still adopted a defensive posture at first. It turned out that the Pannon soldiers took advantage of the length of their spears to attack, but the Nix soldiers found it difficult to attack the enemy.

The slope of the hills here is steep, and the Pannoni are in an unfavorable terrain. They are often at a disadvantage during battles. However, once their array retreats quickly, the Nix soldiers will stop pursuing after the centurion's reminder. Maintain your formation to prepare for the next wave of attacks.

The two chiefs Demicus and Pagilas saw that the attack was not going well at the foot of the mountain. After discussion, they divided some troops and marched quickly eastward, trying to bypass the easternmost end of the Nyx army formation and return to Nyx. From the side and rear of the person, climb the hill and carry out a flanking attack from the front and back...

........................................................................

On the far left wing of the Pannoni coalition, they were attacked from the front and back by the other side. The Broch soldiers knew that they were in a dangerous situation, but their hatred inspired them to become ferocious and resist tenaciously. Moreover, there were so many of them that due to the squeeze from the front and back, the formation became thicker, making it difficult for the attacking Knicks' second legion soldiers to make a breakthrough for a while. Aeolochus did not join the battle with his own troops, because he had already seen the enemy's reinforcements approaching.

The crossbowmen led by Valerius had already moved forward to the formation of the first group of the Third Legion. They were still in two horizontal lines. When they saw the enemy entering the shooting range, the first line of crossbowmen immediately fired their crossbow arrows.

A wave of arrows was shot out, and not many enemies fell. It was completely incomparable with the previous results, because this time the enemy was heavy armored infantry. No matter how powerful the crossbow was and how sharp the arrows were, even if they could penetrate iron armor, they would be the most powerful. It can only cause some damage, but cannot completely lose its combat effectiveness.

Valerius was a little unwilling and ordered another round of shooting.

This wave of crossbows injured fewer enemies because the opponents strengthened their shields for protection.

Valerius did not order any more shooting, but decisively ordered the team to retreat.

Aeolochus immediately asked the entire brigade to rush forward quickly: the four phalanxes of hundreds in the middle charged from the front, and the three phalanxes on both sides detoured around the enemy's flanks.

In fact, Brix's escorts were not even in formation, so there was no flank at all. They rushed all the way to get reinforcements, but they did not expect that the enemy would have a special force waiting here. First they fired crossbows, and then the infantry charged. The escort soldiers rushed to the battle, without even time to breathe, let alone reorganize their formation. Facing the dangerous situation of being outnumbered, the pride in their hearts did not allow them to turn around and escape. With slightly desperate roars, they bravely rushed forward, brandishing their swords and slashing at the enemy.

Shields collided and swords slashed at each other. The Knick soldiers fought fiercely with each other in the front. The flanking teams quickly completed the encirclement. They squeezed in from all directions with a tight shield array. There were less than 300 people and no knots. Broch's heavily armored warriors in formation were unable to withstand the opponent's powerful force, and were soon squeezed into a ball. There was no room for movement, and it was even difficult to raise a shield and swing a sword.

The daggers of countless Nyx soldiers stabbed down from the top of the square shield, piercing their necks and arms without armor protection. Amidst the unwilling roars, these Broch heavy-armored soldiers fell one by one...

While the first brigade of the Third Army was fighting, the crossbow unit was not idle either. Valerius led the soldiers to hold crossbow formations outside the friendly forces to prevent further enemy reinforcements from coming.

Valerius' caution worked. When the battle between the two sides was coming to an end, the sharp-eyed crossbowman suddenly shouted: "Cavalry! The enemy's cavalry is coming!"

Valerius's heart tightened, and countless Pannoni cavalry figures soon appeared in his field of vision.

The messenger sent by Brix asked for help from the other three chiefs. Mazie's army was in the midst of a fierce battle and was as difficult to mobilize as Broch. Maitilis also had a escort of two hundred people, but most of them were With light infantry armed with wooden shields and spears, Maitilis sent them all to the rescue without hesitation.

According to the fighting style of Disone and Peruste's army, they can dedicate some troops to rush to the left wing for rescue. However, the two chiefs are commanding the army to encircle the enemies on the hills from the front and rear, and they really don't want to attack halfway. We gave up, but the left wing was in danger and we had to save it, so we decided to send out the cavalry first, which had never been effective.

1100 cavalrymen galloped westward from the right wing. Even if they tried to take the lowland between the hills, the road was uneven after all, and they were rushing in a hurry. Horses broke their hooves from time to time along the way. It was hard to get ahead of the Maziyi escort. When I reached the far left, I happened to see Broch's army being either flanked or besieged...

The cavalry leaders observed for a while and quickly decided to attack the first brigade of the Third Army first. On the one hand, it was because the Broch soldiers besieged by these enemies were in the most dangerous situation, and at the same time, because these enemies occupied the cavalry rescue and were flanked. A favorable position for friendly forces.

Due to the urgency of the situation and Brix's selfishness, he did not tell the other three leaders in detail, "The enemy's crossbows are very powerful!" Therefore, the cavalry knew nothing about it, and they also saw it in the distance. The Nix crossbowmen guarding the outside of the target had no armor or shields, and only held a short wooden stick-like thing in their hands. They thought they were a group of slaves acting as cannon fodder, just like when their own army fought in usual battles. Don't take it seriously.

(End of this chapter)